Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in IonQ, Inc. $IONQ

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in IonQ, Inc. by 242.4%, acquiring a total of 19,217 shares worth approximately $424,000 at the end of the first quarter.
• IonQ reported a revenue of $20.69 million for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, but had a significant earnings per share miss at ($0.70).
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on IonQ, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "neutral," and an average price target set at $46.78.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ - Free Report) by 242.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,217 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,604 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in IonQ were worth $424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in IonQ by 348.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of IonQ during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC increased its stake in shares of IonQ by 50.0% during the first quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of IonQ by 780.1% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,461 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of IonQ during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 41.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on IONQ shares. Benchmark upped their price target on IonQ from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on IonQ in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on IonQ in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on IonQ in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of IonQ from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, IonQ currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.78.

IonQ Trading Down 4.7%

NYSE:IONQ traded down $2.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $40.97. The company had a trading volume of 6,726,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,272,287. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $41.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.40. The firm has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.38 and a beta of 2.54. IonQ, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.54 and a 52 week high of $54.74.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.70) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.57). IonQ had a negative return on equity of 67.11% and a negative net margin of 885.21%.The firm had revenue of $20.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 81.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that IonQ, Inc. will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at IonQ

In other news, insider Peter Hume Chapman sold 3,581,193 shares of IonQ stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.13, for a total transaction of $136,550,889.09. Following the transaction, the insider owned 390,329 shares in the company, valued at $14,883,244.77. This trade represents a 90.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas G. Kramer sold 216,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.11, for a total transaction of $8,231,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 718,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,382,644.76. The trade was a 23.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,209,626 shares of company stock worth $361,253,723 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

IonQ Profile

IonQ, Inc engages in the development of general-purpose quantum computing systems in the United States. It sells access to quantum computers of various qubit capacities. The company makes access to its quantum computers through cloud platforms, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Amazon Braket, Microsoft's Azure Quantum, and Google's Cloud Marketplace, as well as through its cloud service.